Tag Archives: LEDs

What do you get when you combine the power of electromagnetic induction, and uh, magnets? You get the Flyte LED Lightbulb, of course. Much like the wireless smartphone chargers you see today, this LED bulb is powered from a distance through the magic of electromagnetic induction. But the added flair in this product is that the entire bulb and housing levitate above their base, slowly rotating. The base is plugged into an outlet and some electromagnets keep the bulb in place, while powering the LED. 5V of power are sent through the air, which is enough to generate a modest 60 Lumens. At $249 it’s on the very pricey side, but think of the amazed looks on your guests’ faces and maybe you’ll think it’s worth it.

There’s something special about old timey stuff, and the old Edison lightbulbs with the huge filaments harken back to simpler, less fast-paced times. Wanting to recreate some of that aura, the Buster Bulbs are shaped somewhat like their century old predecessors, but feature very modern technology. Featuring LEDs, they’re being called “the world’s first designer lightbulbs”, and we have to say we quite like their appearance. Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but if you agree with us and fancy to get yourselves one, it’s £40 per. They come in warm gold, smoked grey & bright crystal colors.

There’s a fairly limited number of ways for you to communicate a message to someone else on the road, and the most popular one unfortunately involves a finger that should in most cases remain unflipped. That doesn’t mean you always want to convey a message of aggression; maybe you want to thank someone for letting you merge, or you just want the world to know you’re in a happy mood. The Drivemotion LED Car Sign allows you to quickly access 16 different preset messages or faces with the touch of a couple of buttons, ranging the gamut from “Sorry” to “back off”. They’re all displayed through LEDs on a 6-inch wide board that you affix to your rear window with a suction cup.

Now, be aware that this may not be legal in your state or jurisdiction, so it’s up to you to check on that. But if you’re in the clear and the idea fancies you, it’ll cost you $40.

When you step away from the modern world, full of taken-for-granted conveniences, it’s always a good idea to prepare yourself properly. Spending any amount of time in the wilderness requires not only a bit of courage, but some decent illumination at night. The LuminAID Pack Lite 12 Inflatable Solar Lantern is a waterproof light source that folds flat for easy storage, but once turned on, will provide you with up to 16 hours of brightness on a single charge. This charge, incidentally, is easily obtained by leaving the thing in the sun for 7 hours. The 12 bright LEDs contained inside are also able to flash in an emergency beacon mode, making it easier to find you at night if you ventured too far off the path and can’t find your own way back. Considering it’s only $23, it wouldn’t make any sense to make this an essential “must-pack” item for anyone contemplating extended time outdoors.

It’s cool that you’re taking your pup on a walk, but there he is, enjoying life and getting exercise, while he could be doing something useful instead. If you manage to get your hands on the Disco Dog, a cool vest covered in LEDs, you’ll be able to get your canine friend to display messages in what is sure to be an attention-grabbing fashion. Each vest contains 256 RBG LEDs, which allow you to display any color, scroll text, flash and do a number of animations, all of which are controlled through the companion app. There’s even a Lost Dog function that displays those exact words if Fido wanders out of range of your smartphone, encouraging passersby to help your puppy find his way back to you.

Yes it’s mostly a gimmick, but it’s a fun one and a potentially successful one given people’s general enthusiasm towards dogs. You’ll have to pay a good chunk of change to own a Disco Dog, though. The small vest costs a $300 pledge (and is sold out at the moment), while the Medium is $350 and the Large $400.

There are a good number of “smart LED” bulbs on the market, but most of these just allow you to control them from a smartphone, opening the door to things like picking a color, turning them on remotely, etc. BeON takes things a step further and provides you with a layer of burglary protection we haven’t seen in other bulbs yet. It does this by learning your lighting habits, turning themselves on and off at intervals when you’re not home, giving the appearance you’re there. They’ll even listen to your doorbell and turn on to spook would-be thieves checking to see if you’re home.

Aside from these security features, the bulbs have backup power that will keep them on even if your power goes out. They’ll detect your fire alarm sounds and light the way to an exit in case of a fire, and they’ll fade in an fade out when switched on and off to give your eyes a fighting chance against getting blinded.

Overall the BeON bulbs seem like a pretty decent, full-fledged smart bulb definitely worth considering. Until you see their price, that is: a 3-pack will set you back $229! At that price, maybe it’s better not to look at them as smart bulbs, but rather as a theft deterrence system with an integrated LED bulb…

It’t the middle of the night and you have to pee. You get to the restroom, then are faced with a choice. Pee in the dark and risk missing your target, or turn the lights on and blind yourself for a couple of minutes. If only there were other options. There are, my friend, there are, and the Illumibowl is the latest. It’s a combination motion detector and bright LED that turns on as soon as you walk into the restroom. It simply clips to the side of the commode, so requires no installation or fussing about. It’ll cycle through some colors while you’re there, and then turn itself off after a minute if it senses no motion. Best of all, it’s super cheap, costing only a $15 pledge to get yours by January, and that’s including shipping.

You want a good picture, you need good lighting. It’s as essential as that. The Nova Wireless camera is about the size of a credit card and features 40 small LEDs behind its frosted white plastic panel. That’s enough power to light up your subject good and bright with a diffuse glow and increase your chances at a winning shot. You simply hold it with one hand while you shoot with the other, and since it connects to your phone, you can select any colour temperature. Its size means it’ll fit in a wallet or a pocket with ease, so you can take it with you next time you get an urge to document your breakfast, which, let’s face it, is every day.

We live in a surveillance state, not to say a police state. There are cameras pretty much everywhere and while some may argue that this is fine as long you don’t have anything to hide, the erosion of liberties and privacy this state of affairs entails is depressing to others. The Justice Cap pictured above simply tries to restore some balance by having 9 forward-facing red LEDs right under the brim. Turn them on whenever you want and your face will become mostly unrecognizable in night surveillance footage, even if passersby don’t even notice them. It won’t work in the daytime however.

We’re not advocating you do anything illegal with this, just as us reporting on knives or guns doesn’t mean we’re advocating you use these to do illegal things, even though you could. Be smart and know that the $15 Justice Cap is only meant to make you feel better about being filmed 24/7, not to give you a criminal tool.

OhGizmo! is a frequently updated blog that focuses on covering items that will appeal to a very specific and often very passionate audience: the geek. Aside from the fare of innovative consumer electronic products, the reader can expect to find news about geek culture, absurd inventions, awe inspiring technology, and an ever growing assortment of articles that we like to think fit within our view of what we’re calling the Geek Lifestyle.